JTech780

Even Flyers fans were laughing at the proposal.

Eklund has us potentially moving Gaudreau to Philly for two cap dumps (Ghostisbehere and Van Riemsdyk) and a pick. Usually the one team he actually has a read on is Philly, but this is down right laughable.

I think they see Valimaki as being ready for top 4 minutes next year. Add in Kylington on the left side and that Mackey is said to be pretty much ready to play next year. Moving Hanifin and going with Valimaki and Kylington/Mackey on the left side clears a bunch of cap space that can be allocated elsewhere.

I think they are looking for an assistant to work with the forwards and run the PP. The head coach in Stockton is more of a defensive coach, if I'm not mistaken. Darryl Sutter is the same. Another guy who I think they would take a long look at is Troy Mann, currently head coach of the Belleville Senators. His name has been mentioned a few times for other NHL jobs.

Boudreau isn't under contract for next season. Cross's point is valid though, as I don't think you are getting Boudreau for under $1m.

So if we are looking to add to the bench, I wonder if Bruce Boudreau would be an option. I have heard that he is looking to get back into coaching preferably as a head coach, but he would listen to being added as an assistant. He has experience, he would be a good guy to work with the forwards.

So it sure seems like the priority is getting a starting goalie and a top 4 defenseman, which makes sense when you look at who they have signed for next season. One guy I have seen as being available, that makes sense as a target to me, since we aren't going for a rebuild, is Kris Letang. He is a RHS D, who is an elite PP QB, he makes $7.25m for two more years, which lines up perfectly with the rest of the core. With Pittsburgh looking to cut salary how does a Letang and Murray trade work? I think we would have to give up our 1st, which initially gives me pause, but if we are going for it lets go for it. I think we can also send Kylington. How about: To Calgary: Kris Letang Matt Murray Jared McCann To Pittsburgh: Johnny Gaudreau Oliver Kylington 2020 19th Overall Not sure if that is equal or not.

I get your thinking, but Fleury has been in steep decline the last two years, and with two years @ $7m left on his deal, and him being 35 years old, it would be a pass from me. There are several very good goalies available, I think we will find a strong starter this fall.

One of the things that gives me pause with Markstrom is his save% when up by 1 goal, it's .887, for comparison Rittich was at .908 and Talbot was at .940. I know Vancouver wasn't very good defensively, but that save % is a bit concerning for a team that is already prone to mental lapses as it is. As I look more into goalie analytics, score effects seems to be a key area to look at.

I would rather Kunin over Greenway myself. Kunin is a competitor and a nasty piece of work. He is a RHS RW/C, 22 years old. He can play in all situations.

Michael Russo is reporting on The Athletic that Guerin is getting calls and is even actively shopping Matt Dumba. They want forwards and scoring. Primarily centers. I think we should be in on Dumba. Not sure what it will cost, but I would be willing to do something like Backlund for Dumba. Maybe Gaudreau for Dumba and a young player like Greenway, Eriksson Ek, Kunin, Addison.

Below is a quick chart with basic goalie analytics. The thing that jumps out to me right away is that the guys who played behind great defensive systems Khudobin, Kuemper and Greiss all have great stats, which I guess shouldn't be surprising. Markstrom really jumps out as being better than I thought. Murray and Holtby, two Cup winners, look even worse than I thought. Andersen's HDSV% looks really bad, but then you look at what team he plays for and it makes sense, they don't have anyone front of the net to clear rebounds or players. Rittich is middle of the road in most categories, which IMO would make him a solid 1B/Backup. Going off these stats, the goalies we should be looking at are Lehner, Markstrom, Kuemper, and Andersen. Khudobin and Greiss have great stats but they still make nervous because of their age and lack of starting pedigree. Player Team GP TOI SV% HDSV% LDSV% Avg. Shot Distance Avg. Goal Distance Anton Khudobin DAL 30 1329.68 0.947 0.852 0.982 37.73 19.19 Cam Talbot CGY 26 1170.12 0.925 0.806 0.975 36.98 20.94 Braden Holtby WSH 48 2108.83 0.905 0.786 0.966 36.76 20.75 Darcy Kuemper ARI 29 1432.45 0.932 0.841 0.985 36.71 19.59 Frederik Andersen TOR 52 2457.73 0.915 0.805 0.974 36.53 19.46 Marc-Andre Fleury VGK 49 2301.88 0.915 0.811 0.968 36.16 20.31 Thomas Greiss NYI 31 1304.33 0.922 0.841 0.956 36.09 23.31 David Rittich CGY 48 2215.58 0.916 0.836 0.971 35.57 20.60 Matt Murray PIT 38 1790.85 0.904 0.828 0.967 35.44 25.01 Robin Lehner CHI, VGK 36 1645.78 0.926 0.820 0.985 35.13 17.38 Jacob Markstrom VAN 43 1966.68 0.925 0.836 0.969 35.07 20.69

Goalies can be dangerous in that a system can really skew their stats, and make them look better than they are. For example any goalie playing for Trotz is always going to have betterstats than their ability would suggest, because of his system. So this is where as a GM I would lean heavily on my analytics department, to help make sure I was acquiring the best goalie and the right goalie for the system my coach is deploying.